sunsoforionfandomcom-20200215-history
The Fifth Interstellar War
The Fifth Interstellar War is the last in a series of conflicts/wars first involving the Khanate of Sancordia (then later the Herclux Combine, Stilor Empire and Hexenian Empire, under the banner of the Zephrain Pact) and the Peregrine Transstellar Commonwealth (then later the United Nations of Humanity, Malan Coalition and Stytrian Environmental Republic, under the banner of the Spineward Treaty Organization). The war concluded with the Treaty of Sirius in 2218, and was the largest wars outside of the Thousand Years Wars fought by the Sorensian Concordat. The roots of the Fifth Interstellar War lie within the various distrust between the nations of the Zephrain Pact and the Spineward Treaty Organization. Many analysts believed that after the Fourth Interstellar War ended with an armistice heavily favoring the Pact, that it would only be a matter of time before the UN struck back at its would be oppressors. Little did analysts know that the chance would present itself some twenty years after the conclusion of the war, on the homeworld of a relatively unknown species now known throughout the galaxy as the Gathar. The Stilor Empire's bungled attempts at initial negotiations and the UN's impetuous zealotry and righteousness brought forth one of the bloodiest wars fought by the younger races in recorded history, resulting in the death of millions of sentients. The following is a narratized summary of the history of the Fifth Interstellar War as compiled by the Earth Institute of Xeno Relations from the notes of the various parties of the conflict: 2211 In May 2211, Stilor Imperial Navy vessels discover the Gathar, a post-industrial age felinoid species, on scouting sweep of a newly claimed sector. The Gathar have a communal society, designed for the benefit of all, and have unified in a weak planet wide confederacy. The Stilor Emperor decides to order the Imperial Navy to make contact with the Gathar. Peaceful contact with the Gathar is made by the Stilor, however relations quickly break down over Stilor desires to lease land for bases and resource extraction. Gathar view personal ownership as anathema. Still, some Gathar, lead by Chairman Anomi ban Visar, advocate for a compromise where the resources will be sold to the Stilor in exchange for technology. This proposal is opposed by Premier Honj Llarmash, the leader of the Gathar who represents mainstream Gathar values. The matter is escalated when Stilor surveys reveal the Gathar homeworld is rich in rare and valuable minerals and elements. Various interests in the Empire begin advocating for a more forceful negotiating stance. By July, the Emperor authorizes the Imperial Navy and Sig’Daio, the draconian Stilor intelligence agency and special forces, to begin arming and training ban Visar’s supporters, ostensibly claiming security and safety concerns for ban Visar, at the same time preparations are made to remove Llarmash, allowing her to be replaced by ban Visar. By late July, Sig'Daio, with the Empress' blessing, draws plans for the assassination of Llarmash. Premier Llarmash is soon after assassinated by a Gathar supporter of ban Visar, throwing the Gathar into chaos. Though Imperial officials deny any involvement in the plot, public opinions turns against ban Visar and the Stilor. As Gathar police move to arrest Llarmash, his supporters stage a coup and name Llarmash Premier. He immediately moves against the old government and asks for Stilor support, promising access to Gathar resources. In August 2211, the Emperor orders Stilor Imperial Marines and Sig’Daio troops move into Gathar cities and regions. The following months show a breakdown of control over the planet. ban Visar’s rule becomes increasingly tyrannical as he becomes paranoid, ordering the detention and arrest of former friends and allies. Officially, the Stilor Empire takes no position on the internal issues. Unofficially, even Imperial officials are becoming uncomfortable with the current government. Plans are made to quietly remove Premier ban Visar and assume direct control of the planet. Hours after the end of November 2211, ban Visar is assassinated by Sig’Daio agents. Unfortunately, in his paranoia he has secretly tied his heart to dozens of nuclear weapons across the planet. When his heart stops, these weapons explode, killing millions of Gathar, Stilor, and Barana on the planet. The Gathar homeworld erupts into chaos in the wake of the genocidal bombings. A multi-side civil war breaks out, with the Stilor being the primary target on all sides. The Stilor policy shifts from non-intervention to containment and pacification, with an intention of rebuilding a more stable government once control has been achieved. Stilor estimates put the deathtoll at an estimated 150 million Gathar since the Llarmash assassination. Days after the nuclear explosions, United Nations stealth cruiser Issus, on deep-penetration observation of Stilor territory, discover the Stilor occupation of the Gathar homeworld. Evidence of massive nuclear explosions and genocide are returned to UN territory. The newly elected Secretary-General of the UN, Kurt von Skandenberg, without knowledge of the reasons behind the genocide, immediately moves to declare war on the Stilor Empire for its role in the death of millions. Note: Historians note that the declaration followed years of animosity between the two powers and it is believed that both sides were looking for an excuse to declare on the other. Almost immediately, many states, including the Herclux, Sancordians, Peregrines, Hexenians, Malan, and Rikkari declare neutrality, though most favor one side or the other, though the Sancordians and Herclux warn against any further escalation of the conflict. The Sancordians and Herclux immediately hold wargames on the Terran frontier, in an effort to dissuade the UN from a full commitment of forces towards the Gathar homeworld. 2212 By March 2212,, the UN orders the United Nations First and Third Fleet to jump into the Gathar system, after a determination that the Herclux are not committed to supporting an offensive into the UN by the Khanate. The UN fleets utterly annihilate a significantly outnumbered Stilor fleet in the First Battle of Gathar. UN Marine units, supported by significant orbital support and followed by Regular Army forces, engage in brutal close-quarters fighting against Stilor Imperial Marines left on the planet. By early April, all concentrations of Stilor ground forces are neutralized and investigation reveals the truth to the UN. The UN begins evacuating any Gathar who wishes to leave. Certain elements of Gathar begin harassing UN troops, just as they did Stilor troops. In retaliation, the Stilor muster a counteroffensive and raid pioneer colonies across Liberty Sector in May, while the Imperial Fleet fully mobilizes for war. The Stilor appeal to the Khan for support, but without a commitment from the Herclux Combine, which is mired in internal conflicts over Sorensian issues, the Khan declines again to enter the conflict. In late May, a Stilor cruiser squadron, pinned against Ragnorak system primary in neutral space by elements of the UN Second Battlecruiser Squadron, led by UNSN Piotr Veliky, loses cruisers before the remaining ships are able to escape into hyperspace. The unexpected victory of the UN leaves popular opinion in favor of an offensive into the Stilor home sectors. The UN declines believing that the Stilor would abandon their plans for Gathar. The Stilor military, seething over the loss at Gathar and Ragnarok, press for a second offensive to retake Gathar. In June, a heavy Stilor battlegroup, spearheaded by several dreadnoughts, jumps into the Gathar system. In response, UNSN forces withdraw, leaving behind numerous Marine Raider and Special Forces groups supporting surviving Gathar factions friendly to the UN rearmed with UN Army surplus.The Stilor return to the Gathar homeworld. Sig’Daio troops immediately begin rounding up and detaining all Gathar found, promising them release once the immediate threat of war is ended. The Empire plans to assimilate the Gathar into the Empire once the war is over, unfortunately only 30% of the population is still alive and on planet. The UN is caught offguard by the determination of the Stilor to hold onto Gathar and realize that any future offensives into Gathar will be bloody if Stilor supply lines are not broken. The UN High Command commits to a plan to break Stilor control near Gathar. The UN Third Fleet, commanded by UNSN Venture, engages and destroys a major Stilor forward depot in the Triangle, forcing Stilor raiding forces to pull back to Stilor space to resupply. Note: Historians now note that the strike in the Triangle delayed Stilor plans to invade the UN directly for several months. By October, Stilor forces have recovered from their loss in the Triangle, and a Stilor fleet, led by Admiral Ogale, executes a combat jump on top of Fort Defiance in Liberty Sector and engages it. The dreadnought Valiant is destroyed in the surprise assault, but the defenses of the station, coupled with the 61st "Raptor" squadron's successful bombing run on the SIS Dar’Val, makes the Stilor withdraw before they destroy Fort Defiance itself. This marks the first battle in UN territory of the war, and the first offensive into UN space since the Fourth Interstellar War. Public opinion swings squarely behind the General Assembly, angered at the Stilor strike at Fort Liberty. The UN begins plans for a new offensive to retake Gathar. '2213' Admiral Michelle Warren champions an immediate offensive to retake Gathar, despite warnings of large Stilor fleet elements in the area. The gamble is likely one of the biggest blunders in history, due to Warren's luck. Immediately after transit of to Gathar and taking up geostationary orbits to begin unloading troops, a Hexenian battlegroup surprises even the Stilor by its arrival in the Gathar system, and nearly manages to ruin an ambush designed by Admiral Rom’Dep. Instead it plays anvil to a Stilor hammer as the UNSN Second Fleet is caught in the gravity wells . The Second Fleet suffers heavy damage, and several divisions of Regular Army and Marine Corps forces are hammered in their lightly armored transports. In the aftermath of Third Gathar, Admiral Michelle Warren resigns. The Hexenian Empire issues a direct declaration of war by sending the heads of several UN captains back to the UN. The Stilor privately protest the Hexenian brutality, fearful of reprisals from the Peregrines. Upon news of the entry, and subsequent brutallity of the Hexenian Empire, the Transtellar Commonwealth enters the war after the escalation. Peregrine forces quickly assault numerous outposts along the thinly-settled Hexenian frontier, forcing the Imperium to pull most of their expeditionary forces back to their home space. UNSN launches Operation Resolve, taking the initiative and hitting several Stilor frontier colonies. This marks the first battles in Stilor homespace of the war. Concentrating on orbital infrastructure, four UN cruiser groups raid deep into Stilor territory. The Stilor Imperial Fleet responds to the UN raids by launching another round of raids against the Liberty Sector, further wrecking the infrastructure of the Sector. The Khanate demands that the Peregrines retract their declaration of war, and move to support the Stilor. The Khanate begins mobilization of significant forces towards the UN/Peregrine border while the Khanate and Combine general staff begin preparation for Operation Case White IV, the Pact's battle plan to remove end the conflict. By April 2213, the Herclux Combine mobilizes the Rimward and Coreward Eyes of Herclux Prime and deploys them to the Antolin system, in preparation for missions aimed at delaying Peregrine advancement into Stilor space. The Herclux Combine makes a last ditch appeal for peace, though by this time, the Khanate has decided to press forward with Operation Case White IV. The appeal falls on deaf ears by the warring parties. Within days of the Combine's appeal, the Khanate of Sancordia declares war on Transtellar Commonwealth; in response, the United Nations declares war on the Khanate. The Khanate immediately calls for aid under Article 5 of the Zephrain Pact, promtping Herclux entrance into the war as well. Note: Historians question the innocence of the Combine, as it is believed that Case White IV called for a trigger of the Zephrain Pact to justify Herclux entrance into the war. Other historians believe it was the Combine, not the Khanate which pressed for entrance into the war initially. Within two months, the Stytrians, Malan, and Tso will enter the war in support of the UN and Peregrines. The full scale of the Fifth Interstellar War is now set. The UN commences Operation Dundee in July. A heavy UNSN/Starshield battlegroup breaks through the Stilor frontier and assaults the shipyards at Tir'dan. They are met by the main Stilor fleet, supported by three Hexenian squadrons. In a four day running battle, the Allied formation succeeds in crippling the shipyards and other orbital assets before withdrawing to Peregrine space having suffered significant casualties. The destruction of the shipyards destroy several battlecruisers and dreadnoughts under construction for the Imperial Fleet. In retaliation, Stilor Imperial Marines and Imperial Army launch the invasion of Xenophon, occupying the system. The Imperial Fleet intends to use this as a base to launch further attacks against the UN. Stilor Imperial Naval Intelligence, operating in the Rikkari Empire, catches wind that Malan civilian ships are moving military supplies through Rikkari to UN frontier sectors, while the Rikkari government turns a blind eye. For reasons unknown, Stilor abandon the occupation of Xenophon in late August. The UN questions the resolve of the Stilor until news is received that Khanate advance squadrons have attacked UNSN listening posts along the frontier and in neutral territory. The Peregrines also report Herclux advance squadrons appearance within Peregrine space. Both forces begin small raids of supply lines. First Malan formations enter the war, taking up defensive arrangements around Liberty Station and Fort Defiance. Some of these Malan formations are supported via clandestine supply through the Rikkari Empire as it is a shorter route. Stilor forces raid a Malan convoy traveling to Rikkari space. The Rikkari Government proves unwilling to stop the Malan, but makes no complaint of the actions from the Stilor either. In an effort to dislodge the Stilor from Gathar, a strong Allied formation destroys a token Pact watch force and assaults the planet again, making contact with surviving native factions and resuming the Gathar evacuation to UN space. By now, most Gathar have been detained in camps, making it easy for the UN to evacuate them. The main objective of the war has shifted due to the Pact's entrance. The Sancordian and Herclux have no interest in the outcome of the Gathar matter beyond continued Stilor support to crush the UN. Several more Stilor raids exacerbate the situation in the Rikkari Empire. The Rikkari government is pushed by Malan and UN to complain to Stilor and force an end to raiding. Nevertheless, Malan and Terrans begin to employ private security forces to escort civilian ships. 2214 By January 2214, Khanate forces engage patrolling elements of the Starshield and UNSN along the common border. In support of their new allies, the First Tso Imperial Navy battlegroups take up defensive stations along Olympian frontier; their advanced technology enables them to stand toe-to-toe with Sancordian battlegroups and takes a good deal of pressure off of the UNSN. The Khanate immediately mobilizes the rest of their forward capital ships and calls on the Herclux to mobilize the Spineward Eye. During this time, the Rikkari government starts restricting Stilor trade and transit access in incremental steps, spurred by several more raids and acts of sabotage as well as by increased diplomatic pressure from Malan/UN. Stytrian forces begin raids into Hexenian space, using their superior speed and technology to avoid a decisive engagement with the heavier Hexenian forces. The first major Pact offensive falls on the UN system of Cascadia in 2214. A Khanate battlegroup assaults into the UN frontier, destroying planetary defenses at Skonhet, Alexandria, and Glory before attacking the sector capital. UN Seventh Fleet, supported by a Peregrine cruiser squadron and several Tso formations, stops the attack cold, although not without significant losses. In conjunction with that offensive, heavy elements of the Rimward Eye of Hercluxia Prime attack the Peregrine frontier, laying waste to several frontier worlds, forcing the Starshield to divert several heavy battlegroups earmarked for follow-on operations against the Stilor and shelving Allied plans for a drive into the Stilor homeworlds. This marks the first battle in Peregrine space during the war. In support, the Stilor Imperial Naval forces launch several raids into Peregrine space. The remainder of 2214 is characterized by attacks on convoys and indecisive skirmishes between cruiser and destroyer squadrons. The Khanate salient into UN territory, centered around the Scandinavian world of Skonhet, holds against numerous pinprick raids. The Stilor continue to use the time to rebuild and expand the Imperial Fleet, which has begun to show damage. The Spineward Eye arrives in orbit around Skonhet to secure the Khanate’s foothold into UN territory. UN public opinion sours towards the war's recent turns. Meanwhile, in the Rikkari sectors, with Sig’Daio backing, the second son of the Rikkari Emperor assassinates the Emperor and his eldest brother. The coup attempt plunges the Rikkari Empire into chaos. Initial attempts at purges are only partially successful and some parts of the military that were loyal to the old Emperor flee to the Outland sectors. 2215 By January 2215, the new Rikkari Emperor, who continues to fight loyalist elements, has gained enough control over the core sector to claim a new government. The new Emperor, taking advice from Stilor advisors, severs most ties with the Malan/UN and closes the borders, cutting off key Allied supply lines. The Stilor provide material support to new Rikkari regime, particularly technology transfer to improve the Rikkari ships. Most escort ships are redeployed by November. In response, Malan and UN provide some technology support to the loyalist remnants, but efforts are scatter-shot. The Pact launches a new offensive dubbed Case Black II, a major offensive into the Cascadia system in the UN as well as the planet of Eresene in the Commonwealth. At second Cascadia, Khanate forces supported by Herclux advance destroyers succeed in driving Allied naval elements from the system, but decline to invade either New Seattle or Hedonia and restrict themselves to pounding the orbital infrastructure of the system to dust. Allied forces fall back to defensive positions around von Tromp's Star and Aquitaine. At the Battle of Eresene, the Rimward Eye of Hercluxia Prime, led by the IHV Sendaii and its attached vessels are caught in the gravity wells over the Peregrine world of Eresene by an equal size force of Peregrine heavy capital ships. Pinned in by the wells, the elements of the Rimward Eye fight their way through, suffering moderate damage. Rather than withdraw, the commander of the Sendaii, calls for assistance from the rest of the fleet, which immediately jumps in system, exposing the size of the committed Herclux fleet in Peregrine territory. Reinforcements from neighboring systems arrive almost instanteously, outnumbering the Herclux almost two-to-one in tonnage. The Sendaii’s commander orders an immediate fighting withdrawal, but the Peregrine armada pursues relentless, destroy most of the fleet’s escort ships and heavily damaging Herclux capital ships. The Herclux withdraw, and abandon incursions into Peregrine space, having suffered major damage to the Rimward Eye. The Peregrines do not pursue, having suffered heavy damage to their fleets as well. Two months later, the Stilor, having been eerily quiet on the UN front, tap into the UNSN tachyon FTL communications grid. Having finished their rebuilding programs, the Stilor ambush a heavy UNSN squadron built around the dreadnoughts Vambrace and Vampire, at the Battle of the Three Suns. The UNSN force suffers heavy losses and is forced to withdraw to Liangzhen in Diaspora Sector. Stilor forces, supported by a Sancordian carrier group dispatched from Alexandria follow the UNSN remnant back to Liangzhen and finish the destruction of the force, before raiding the system and withdrawing. In retaliation only days later, a UNSN force destroys the same Sancordian carrier group over Alexandria (the Second Battle of Alexandria) and retake the ground ports with elements of the 7th Marine Division and the 101st Spaceborne. It is the first time a UNSN battle group defeats a similarly sized Sancordian force in open battle. In late September, attempting to follow up on their victory at Alexandria, UNSN forces engage a Sancordian/Herclux battleship squadron blockading the planet of Glory and are repulsed easily by the Pact ships. Joint Malan/Tso battlegroup stops an attempted attack on Liberty Station by a small Stilor force cold in October 2215. This is the first significant battle for the Malan Coalition, whose technology lags behind the rest of the Alliance's. November sees the conclusion of the Heinlein Conference which sets common standards for all Alliance weaponry and facilities technology transfers between higher-tech Alliance members and developing members, primarily the Malan Coalition and the United Nations and the Antolin Meeting between Stilor, Pact which results in revised Operation Case White IV. New Rikkari ships move into the Outlands and decisively defeat remaining loyalist forces, although there are rumors some ships escaped into the nebula. By December, the powers organize an attempted peace conference which breaks down over Stilor refusal to abide to terms over Gathar homeworld and human insistence on an equitable neutral zone between UN space and the Khanate. The Pact is even more convinced now that the UN must be pruned. 2216 2216 began as a year of strong STO advances to retake territor, but ended with the planning of Case White Five, the famous Pact battle plan that, while not implemented until 2217, eventually leads to the Battle of Wolf 359, the largest recorded battle in recorded history (outside of the Sorensian Concordat). In response to the conference's failure, STO battlegroups trap and destroy a Khanate force against the New Seattle/Hedonia gravity well in Cascadia. Several antimatter warheads detonate on New Seattle's surface, killing nearly two million and damaging the biosphere significantly; while a victory for Alliance arms, the damage to New Seattle's economy and biosphere negate any real gains. UN privateers, using UN surplus and converted ships, hit the outer Rikkari systems and Outland sectors. Rikkari Government is at first hesitant to deal with the situation but is becoming more willing to combat the situation as its confidence grows. At the Battle of Yobin, the UNSN 3rd Fleet engages and destroys a major Stilor battlegroup aimed at recapturing Gathar and carrying on into Liberty Station. Spearheaded by UNSN Venture and UNSN Texas, the Stilor lose seven ships of heavy cruiser mass or greater to little loss. However, at the Battle of Caledonia, Malan force suffers heavy casualties defending a UN pathfinder colony in Liberty Sector; two Malan battlecruisers are destroyed by the heavy Stilor raid group. During the battle, a Stilor ship’s hulk crashes onto the planet, resulting in a megaton explosion, killing millions. Due to continuing raids, the Rikkari Empire sheds all pretense of neutrality and joins the war on the side of the Pact. Its actions are limited mostly to raiding UN and Malan border systems. The Stilor, concerned about the situation, force the Rikkari to hire Ithari mercenaries, though this is causes some hated on the part of the Rikkari. The Malan begin operations by sending a small fleet based around a battleship into Rikkari core sector. They easily sweep aside Rikkari ships and attack the home system of Ymo. Ithari and Rikkari ships, with the support of two Stilor light cruisers, turn back the offensive, but the Rikkari shipyards are heavily damaged. While raiding continues, the STO coalition does not attempt another major incursion for the rest of the war. By April, Hexenian forces shift their focus to raiding Alliance convoys in the Triangle and along the Peregrine frontier, forcing the UN to deploy heavy cruisers and carriers to cover vital shipments of supplies and munitions to the front line. A Hexenian battlegroup centered on two of their heavy carriers engage and destroy a Peregrine battlegroup in orbit of a brown dwarf. The heavy radiation negate many of the Peregrine's superior sensors and electronic warfare capabilities, and the Hexenian's far greater tolerance of hard radiation enables their fighters to operate close to the brown dwarf, where they savage three Peregrine heavy cruisers and cripple the dreadnought Glorious Cry of Fury. The Battle of the Void serves as the Peregrine's first defeat at the hands of the Hexenians in the war in a pitched battle. (and recorded history). Following the Hexenian victory, a heavy Stilor/Hexenian battlegroup, supplemented with hired Ithari mercenaries, launches a surprise assault into the UN's Diaspora Sector, destroying several frontier outposts before hitting the heavily inhabited American colony of Shenandoah. The planetary defenses of the world slow the Pact assault, but several antimatter warheads manage to slip through the planetary defense grid and inflict heavy casualties on the planet's surface. Before the Pact force can land troops and dig in, a scratch battlegroup built around the battleships Red Dragon and California drive off the Pact forces, though not without heavy damage to both the planetary defense grid and the reinforcing UN squadron. The Hexenians do lose the battleship Fury's Call in the engagement, but the battle is considered a Pact victory. The loss of life at Shenandoah hardens UN resolve. Soon after the withdrawal at Shenandoah, the Stilor Tel'kek class dreadnought Vic'ran and consorts engage in an isolated engagement with the core of 3rd Fleet, built around the dreadnought Venture. Both groups were re-deploying for seperate offensives and assumed that they could travel undetected in neutral space in preparation for new offensives. The battle quickly degenerates to a duel between the two flagships, with the Venture landing a lucky shot thirty-seven minutes into the engagement and crippling the Vic'ran's shield generators. The Venture destroys the Vic'ran, suffering heavy damage itself, and the Stilor force retreats soon after. The Venture limps back to Diaspora Sector, where it will be under repair for the next year. The battle is now known as the Battle of the Titans. Angered by failures of Case Black II, the Sancordian High Command in conjunction with the Herclux Imperial Chiefs of Staff begin planning Operation White-Five, a quick drive into Sol Sector to end the war in an armistice favoring the Pact, unbeknownst to the STO. The UN launches Operation Dundee II whereby an Allied battle group hits the Stilor spinward frontier, razing several military outposts and devastating deep-space infrastructure. After defeating a Stilor cruiser group at the Battle of Yorba, the Allied squadron withdraws in good order to Malan Coalition space. In retribution for the Battle of the Void, the Starshield launches Operation Valkyrie, aimed at the Hexenian border garrisons at Rwaxxana and Gla-Ven. The Hexenian fleet base at Rwaxxana is devastated, although the assault at Gla-ven ends in a bloody stalemate. Starshield forces occupy the Rwaxxana system as a toehold into Imperial space. First Resolute class battleships completed in UNSN yards; the UNSN's operational strength will significantly increase over the next six months as building plans begun in 2212 and 2213 bear fruit. By November, the STO has completely retaken initiative in the war, pressing the Stilor back into Stilor space, while holding Pact gains on the rimward front to minimal gains. This changes on a fateful day in December, when a Tso battlegroup over Zeeland colony is annihilated by Stilor battle group of a dozen capital ships. This is more than sufficient to annihilate the Tso Imperial Guard fleet over the Liberty Sector world. The Stilor occupy Zeeland and immediately fortify their position with more ships and fixed defenses, including Hexenian ships. The Stilor fleet will bypass the remainder of Liberty Sector entirely, aiming squarely for the frontiers of Sol sector. 2217 With the unexpected breakthrough of Stilor forces in Liberty, the joint Khanate/Combine high command decides to launch White-Five several months earlier than planned, moving several capital ship groups into Skonhet in preparation for the long drive on Sol. In an effort to shield larger fleet movements, a Stilor/Hexenian battle group assaults the Japanese colony of Yamato, in the 61 Cygni system; this is the first Pact assault in an Allied Core world. Yamato's heavy defenses, coupled with a rushed redeployment of First Fleet from Sol, will force the Pact forces to withdraw long before they manage to reduce the impressive fortifications around Yamato. The diversion allows Sancordian forces to slip through early warning grids into Skonhet undetected. The Stilor and Hexenian forces continue to put pressure Allied forces from their base on Zeeland through February though some signs of disunity emergy. Stilor officials file a quiet protest with the Hexenian forces after Hexenians are caught abusing Human and Tso prisoners. To date prisoners have been held in tolerable conditions, Imperial War Ministry officials do not want this to change. They demand Hexenians cease this abuse and make an account of all prisoners that are held in Hexenian territory. The UN, believing that the bulk of the renewed offensive will begin with Stilor action, fortify their battlelines on the anti-rimward front towards Liberty. White-Five is launched with a renewed assault on Cascadia. The appearance of nearly fifty Khanate and Combine capital ships, including the flagship of the Herclux Imperial Fleet, the IHV Khotan, which had only been seen with its guns pointed at Earth in the Fourth Interstellar War, panics Allied High Command, who cancel a planned assault into Stilor territory that would include a ground force component with the intent of capturing Stilor colony systems. Malan, Stytrian, and Peregrine forces routed to Sol, while Tso battlegroups 'watch the rear' of the UN with significant reinforcements into Liberty Sector and the Peregrine frontier. Cascadia falls completely to the Pact advance. A pandemic breaks out on all Rikkari core worlds at largely the same time. The disease spreads quickly and quickly overwhelms all attempts at quarantine. Most of the leadership is among the first to fall ill and die from the plague, which only makes the matter worse. Ithari mercenaries, claiming they will not get paid, abandon the area. The Stilor withdraw to their ships and maintain a strategic presence, working towards a cure, and preventing any Allied interference. By May, the Rikkari Pandemic starts to reach Outlands, but drastic measures by local leaders keep it from spreading on a large scale. However, as a result there are not many refugees or survivors. The death toll in core sectors reaches new heights and nears critical mass. The Government completely collapses. A hospital ship sent to the area to assist suffers reactor failure and is destroyed under mysterious circumstances. The Stilor announce they will redeploy Imperial Marines to Rikkari core sector to assist the civil government. Sancordians finish operations in Olympia and Horizon sectors, begin moving into Sol Sector. After verifying that the Sancordians are avoiding civilian casualties, Allied High Command decides to bait the Pact group into an engagement in Sol Sector. In another effort to conceal the movement of forces and to determine ship strength, the Herclux launch an incursion into Diaspora Sector which is stopped by elements of Fifth Fleet. Little more than a recon-in-force, the Battle of Zhonghau prevents significant economic damage to Diaspora Sector. On August 22, 2217, the decisive battle of the Fifth War begins at the Battle of Wolf 359. The Pact assaults the strategic antimatter production facility and communications hub of Wolf 359, intent on sterilizing the largely uninhabited system to bring the Alliance to the negotiation table. The Sancordian/Herclux battlegroup is met by an equal sized force drawn from all five of the Alliance navies and is commanded by Admiral Stewart on the hastily repaired UNS Venture. Reinforcements from Sol, Alpha Centauri, and Sirius, coupled with Pact heavy reinforcements awaiting in nearby staging areas, all less than a day away by military hyper, add a new level of coordination to the engagement, which lasts for nearly a full day. Dozens of ships on both sides are destroyed, and nearly two hundred more suffer varying degrees of damage. The Battle of Wolf 359 is one of the largest in the recorded history of Civilized Space, and certainly the largest outside of the Sorensian conflicts. Ultimately, the Alliance fleet manages to force the Pact to withdraw, although it has suffered far too much damage to continue its pursuit. The brutal fighing leaves the next two months to an almost cessation of active combat between the two sides. Furthering the bad news of August, Stilor officials announce “100% loss of life” on the Rikkari homeworld of Ymo. They the maintain occupation of homeworld and sector to deny it to the Allies. The Herclux, now eager to end the war due to security concerns, devise a plan to force a quick surrender. In October, perhaps the boldest military manuever in history begins. Known by its codename, which is named after the 20th Century country song sang by Reba McEntire, the Night the Lights Went Out in Sirius is pulled off with stunning success. Having bribed the Sorensian sector governor at S'Jevo, a Herclux battlegroup transits the Victory Station wormhole directly into Sirius. The assault is a complete surprise and manages to secure the asteroid colonies immediately around the wormhole terminus, although the decentralized nature of the Sirius settlements mean a large majority of the population is uninvolved in the immediate assault. The Herclux decline to 'asteroid hop' through the Sirius system and concentrate on re-fortifying the wormhole terminus itself, which lost most of its defense grid in the attack. The seizure of Sirius effectively cuts off quick reinforcements from the Transtellar Commonwealth. In a further effort to bring the UN to the bargaining table, the Herclux Rimward and Coreward Eyes raid the systems of Belo Horizonte, Beowulf, Mandela, and Dustball causing significant damage to the deep-space infrastructures of these systems. With the deployment of the Rimward and Coreward Eyes and the rumored dispatch of several newly christened monitor class vessels from Via Sanctus in October, the mood within the STO becomes more somber. Allied High Command, worrying that the arrival of large capital elements from the Combine will shift the balance and allow the Pact to retake the initiative, make a last-ditch effort to eject the Herclux from Sirius. A Peregrine battlegroup jumps from the wormhole at Anarasate in conjunction with a stratch UN battlegroup operating from Tau Ceti. The combined Herclux fleet elements and hastily repaired defensive battlements in orbit around the junction repulse the assault with moderate losses, causing heavy damage to the Peregrine/UN battlegroup. Realizing finally that the Herclux fleet estimates committed were severely misjudged, the UN secretly approaches the Stilor for an armistice, which is roundly rejected. By November, the Herclux Combined Strikeforce, consisting of three monitor class vessels and their escorts arrive at Mandela, the rapidly expanding Herclux base of operations in the Sol Sector. In a coup for codebreakers operating in the UN, Allied intelligence intercepts their arrival and cracks Pact codes indicating that the Pact intends to launch a new offensive in January 2218. While the details of the plan are sketchy at best, the STO becomes aware of large troop movements from the Herclux frontier, indicating that the Khanate and Combine are preparing to abandon their current tactics of attacking infrastructure only, in favor of an all out invasion. Faced with the possibility of a new offensive into Sol, as well as the possibility of losing undefended outer colonies to military occupation by the notoriously brutal Herclux Imperial Ground Forces, the UN presses the STO high command to offer the Pact a cease-fire. 2218 Khanate negotiators convince Combine counterparts to entertain a cease-fire, much to the chagrin of the Herclux military. Soon after, the Treaty of Sirius is signed, ending the Fifth Interstellar War. The treaty is relatively fair for both sides, with human expansion anti-spineward curtailed in return for Stilor funding of Gathar resettlement to any world they wish. At the same time Gathar are free to return to their homeworld if they so choose. It is militarily impossible for the Alliance to hold the Gathar system, which is far closer to Stilor space than Peregrine or UN space, and is indeed already technically within their settlement frontier. The rebuilding of Hexenian, Peregrine, Stilor, and UN space begins. The Treaty is conspicuously silent on the Rikkari situation. The Stilor maintain effective control of the home sector, and begin to make some small efforts to quietly colonize it. While it is assumed the pandemic was biological warfare, it is not known who was responsible and none of the participants like to talk about the situation. The Rikkari Outlands are largely lawless territory with a developing gray/black market economy. A few Gathar choose to return their homeworld, now the Stilor capital of the new Mal’Dara Sector. These Gathar are slowly introduced into Stilor society, leading to eventual citizenship. However, most choose to remain in UN or Malan space. The political situation in the Combine is volatile at best. More martial members of society take to the streets in protest of their government’s “failure” by signing the Treaty of Sirius. The Empress is forced to make serious concessions to the military in terms of rebuilding and priority. The Khanate is satisfied with the conclusion of the conflict, with the established of the neutral zone which restricts any further UN expansion towards the Khanate. The differences in opinion somewhat strain Herclux-Sancordian relations. In response to the expansion of the STO during the war and the complete collapse of the Sorensian central government, the Pact formally welcomes the Stilor as a full member, though the Herclux unofficially are less than enamored with the expansion of the alliance. The Pact continues their loose alliance with the Hexenian government out of necessity.